Coupler hook force gage

ABSTRACT

A gage for measuring a force at which hooks of couplers used to couple passenger transit type vehicles together are biased when such vehicles are coupled together by such hooks. Such gage including a bracket member having at least one guide pin disposed thereon. Such at least one guide pin being sized and located to seat in at least one guide hole disposed in a railway transit coupler. An elongated tubular housing member is mounted on such bracket member. There is a main coil spring disposed within such elongated tubular housing member. A shaft member is disposed along a longitudinal axis of such main coil spring. A plunger member extends from a forward end of the shaft member and such tubular housing member for engaging a hook portion of such coupler and a power screw member is threadedly engaged into an end of the elongated tubular housing member opposite the forward end of such tubular housing member for translating the shaft member in such elongated tubular housing member and such plunger member into and from such hook of such coupler.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates, in general, to passenger transit typecouplers and, more particularly, this invention relates to a fixture formeasuring the force at which coupling hooks are sprung by springsemployed to insure positive reliable coupling of passenger transit typecars in a reliable safe manner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Coupling hooks for passenger rail vehicles operate under a predeterminedforce that is presently measured with a loop of cable connected to adynamometer gage which, in turn, is connected to another cable having ahandle at a remote end thereof. The loop of cable is placed around thehook of a coupler, and a direct force of between about 100 to 140 poundsis applied by an operator while another person observes initial movementof the hook. The dynamometer gage has a dial that is read when initialhook movement is noted. The observer then determines if spring forceadjustment is within a specified hook force range.

The reliability and repeatability of this prior art type pulling methodis, at best, a compromise and estimate only. The reason for this isbecause the operator pulls are often uneven and the reaction time of theobserver watching for initial hook movement is slow. In addition, thecable scheme is somewhat unsafe and hazardous should the cable loop slipor the cable break.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention solves the above described problems through theuse of a bracket containing two pins which are sized and spaced apart ina manner to seat in guide pin holes of the face plate of a coupler. Anelongated tubular housing is mounted on the bracket and contains a maincoil spring which is located around an elongated shaft. A plungerextends from the forward end of the shaft and tubular housing forengaging the hook of the coupler, and a power screw is threaded into theend of the housing opposite the forward end for translating the shaft inthe housing and the plunger to and from a coupling hook. A dialindicator is placed in contact with the hook such that when the hookmoves against the force of the coupler's biasing spring, a workman noteshook movement by watching for dial movement. Markings may be placed uponthe power screw, the tubular housing and/or the plunger to determine theamount of movement of the power screw or plunger and thus the amount offorce experienced by the gage and plunger in order to move the hook.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention toprovide a hook force measuring device which is a more reliable,accurate, and safe means for measuring the force at which coupler hooksfor passenger rail vehicles are sprung and/or biased.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a hook forcemeasuring device that does not require the use of a pull force on acable attached to a coupler hook to measure the force at which couplerhooks for passenger rail vehicles are sprung and/or biased.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hook forcemeasuring device which will provide repeatedly reliable measurements ofhook force that are not compromised by inconsistent jerks or pulls on acable by a workman or slow reaction of the workman in observing initialhook movement.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a hook forcemeasuring device that is a compact and lightweight instrument which canbe readily applied directly to a coupler.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hook forcemeasuring device which can be applied to a coupler while it is mountedon a passenger rail vehicle or to a coupler that has been removed fromsuch a vehicle without the need of special fixtures to hold the coupler.

THE DRAWINGS

The advantages and objectives of the invention will be better understoodfrom consideration the following detailed description in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of prior art type apparatus usedfor measuring the force imposed upon a coupling hook of a passengerrailway vehicle by a hook biasing spring,

FIG. 2A and 2B show respectively side and front elevation views of acoupling hook assembly,

FIG. 3A is a plan view of the coupling hook force gage of according topresent the invention,

FIG. 3B is a sectional view of the gage taken along line III-III of FIG.3A, and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the gage of the present inventionconnected to a face plate of the coupling hook assembly illustrated inFIGS. 2A and 2B.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference is now made, more particularly, to the drawings. Illustratedin FIG. 1 thereof is a prior art apparatus for measuring the force atwhich railway passenger car coupling hooks 10 are sprung or biased by aleaf spring 12 (FIG. 2A). As best seen in FIG. 2A, spring 12 isillustrated as a leaf spring but a coil spring can be used in place ofthe leaf spring. Such springs 12 are used to insure a positive reliablecoupling of the railway cars.

This prior art apparatus includes a loop of cable 14 that is placedaround such car hook 10, and a length of cable 16 connecting the cableloop to one side of a dynamometer gage and dial 18. A second cable 20 isconnected to the opposite side of the gage, and is provided with ahandle 22 which is connected to the end of such second cable 20 remotefrom the gage. A workman pulls on the handle 22 to exert a pulling forceon car hook 10 while another workman watches for initial movement of thehook, which hook must move against the force of spring 12. The gage 18measures the pulling force being imposed on the hook 10 by the operatorwhile the dial thereof provides a visible reading of the pulling forcebeing exerted. When initial hook movement is observed, the dial is thenread by one or both of the workmen. If the force presented by the dialreading is not within the specified range that insures reliablecoupling, spring 12 is adjusted to provide a spring force within suchrange. If the spring adjustment is not effective in locating the forcewithin the required range, the spring 12 is then replaced with anotherspring that does provide the proper force.

As discussed above, the means illustrated in FIG. 1 has certaindisadvantages in regard to safety, reliability and repeatability, i.e.,if the loop located around the hook should happen to slip off the hook,or if anyone of the cables happens to break while a workman pulls on thehook, personnel can be injured. In addition, repeatability andreliability of this prior art device is uncertain if the force of eachpull by the workman is not evenly applied when the measurement is read,or if the observer workman is not consistent in observing first, initialmovement of the hook.

FIGS. 2A and 2B of the drawings show a hook assembly 30 for couplingtogether passenger railway cars, which assembly includes the couplinghook 10. As can be seen in FIG. 2A and 2B, the coupling hook 10 of theassembly extends through an opening 32 provided in a vertically disposedface plate 34. The above described leaf spring 12 bears against the hookto maintain a proper coupling force on the hook, as noted earlier. Thelower end of the face plate 34 contains two outwardly extending guidepins 36 for seating in two corresponding guide pin holes (not shown)provided in a corresponding face plate of the corresponding couplingassembly of the passenger car to be coupled to the passenger carcontaining assembly 30. Similarly, the upper end of the face plate 34has two guide pin holes 38 for receiving two corresponding guide pins(not shown) provided on the face plate of the corresponding couplingassembly of the car to be coupled to such car containing assembly 30.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 3 and 4 which illustrate a relativelysimple portable and compact gage 40 which provides repeatedly reliablemeasurement of the force that is being imposed by the springs 12 ofcoupling hooks 10. Specifically, gage 40 comprises a planar U-shapedbracket 42 having two pins 44 extending perpendicularly from the planeof the bracket 42, and sized and spaced to seat in the guide pin holes38 of face plate 34. Attached to the U-shaped bracket 42, and laterallycentered, between pins 44 is an elongated cylindrical container ortubular housing 46 which contains a main coil spring 48 that is locatedbetween the inner ends of a plunger 50, which extends outwardly fromsuch U-shaped bracket 42, and a power screw 52. Spring 48 is alsolocated around an intermediate shaft 54 and an inner sleeve 56 attachedto the inner end of plunger 50. Intermediate shaft 54 extends betweenthe inner end of the power screw 52 and such inner sleeve 56. Powerscrew 52 is centered by and is threaded in and through end cap 58, withthe end cap 58 being suitably secured to the end of cylindrical housing46. Such power screw 52 also is centered in housing 46 by a washer 60connected to the inner end of the screw in a manner that allows thescrew to rotate while the washer remains stationary. Plunger 50 iscentered in container 46 by an end wall 62 of the container and by awasher type head 64 attached to the inner end of the plunger 50.

A coil puppet spring 66 is located around the end of such plunger 50located within container 46 and in axial alignment with main spring 48.Puppet spring 66 is held between the end wall 62 of container 46 and thewasher type head 64 of plunger 50. The puppet spring 66 is also smallerthan spring 48 to provide a spring force that is substantially less thanthat of spring 48.

The operation of gage 40 is described in terms of FIG. 3 and 4 of thedrawings, and operates in conjunction with a dial indicator 68 (FIG. 2A& B). The dial indicator is secured to face plate 34 of coupler 30 andis located in contact with hook 10. The indicator can be provided with amagnetic base such that a workman can simply place the indicator againstthe face plate 34 to secure the indicator to such face plate 34. Thespaced guide pins 44 of the gage are placed in guide pin holes 38 of thecoupler's face plate 34 in the manner shown in FIG. 4. Such placement ofgage 40 locates plunger 50 directly above hook 10, while power screw 52is located above the face plate to provide ready access by a workman.The bracket 42 is held in place and against movement by pins 44 beinglocated in guide holes 38 of the coupler's face plate 34. Power screw 52is now rotated in the end cap 58 into container 46 by a workman therebycompressing the weaker puppet spring 66 and directing plunger 50 towardhook 10. Hook 10 has an upper face line and surface 70 that is engagedby the outer end of plunger 50, when the power screw 52 is rotated inend cap 58 and relative to washer 60 against the puppet spring 66.Spring 48 remains uncompressed until plunger 50 contacts the face linesurface 70 of hook 10. Further rotation of screw 52 into cylinder beginscompression of spring 48, as intermediate shaft 54 moves into innersleeve 56.

With continued compression of main spring 48 by power screw 52, theforce of hook spring 12 (FIG. 2) is exceeded by the force of spring 48.This causes such hook 10 to move slightly. This movement is registeredby dial indicator 68, as hook movement is against a shaft 69 abuttingthe hook, the shaft being resiliently mounted in the housing of the dialindicator. The workman notes the indication of hook movement presentedby the dial indicator and immediately stops rotating power screw 52. Hethen notes the position of power screw 52 in the container housing 46,or the position of plunger 50 relative to the cylinder end wall 62 todetermine the force that moved the hook 10. If this force is within thatrange specified that insures reliable coupling between the cars, theworkman does nothing more except, of course, to remove gage 40 and dialindicator 68 from face plate 34. If the force that moved the hook 10 istoo low or too high adjustment of spring 12 is made to bring the hookforce into the proper range.

In FIG. 4, container housing 46 is provided with markings 75 to providea reading of the position of the inner end of power screw 52 or washer60 within the container housing 46, and thus the amount of force beingexerted on the coupling hook 10 by such spring 48 to slightly initiallymovement of the coupling hook 10, i.e., gage 40 is calibrated in amanner that provides the force of exertion effected by spring 48 asindicated by the location of power screw 52 in the container housing 46.Similar markings 76 and 77 can be provided respectively on power screw52 and plunger 50.

The edge of the washer 60 can be, and preferably is, provided with acircumferential groove 78, as illustrated by a solid line in FIGS. 3Aand 3B. In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, thiscircumferential groove 78 will contain a brightly colored paint. Suchpainted circumferential groove 78 being provided to serve as a pointerfor the workman in moving the coupling hook 10 and noting the forcemeasurements.

Gage 40 is removed from such face plate 34 by an outward rotation of thepower screw 52 from compression of springs 48 and 66, and the plunger 50from coupling hook 10, so that gage 40 can be easily removed from theface plate 34.

While a presently preferred embodiment of a gage for measuring the hookforce of a passenger car coupler has been described above, it should beunderstood that various other modifications and adaptations of the gagemay be made by those persons who are skilled in the art of couplingpassenger transit vehicles without departing from the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A gage for measuring a force at which hooks of couplers usedto couple passenger transit type vehicles together are biased when suchvehicles are coupled together by such hooks, said gage comprising:(a) abracket member having at least one guide pin disposed thereon, said atleast one guide pin being sized and located to seat in at least oneguide hole disposed in a railway transit coupler; (b) an elongatedtubular housing member mounted on said bracket; (c) a main coil springdisposed within said elongated tubular housing member; (d) a shaftmember disposed along a longitudinal axis of said main coil spring; (e)a plunger member extending from a forward end of said shaft and saidtubular housing member for engaging a hook of such coupler, and (f) apower screw threadedly engaged into an end of said elongated tubularhousing member opposite said forward end of said tubular housing memberfor translating said shaft in said elongated tubular housing member andsaid plunger into and from such hook of such coupler.
 2. The gage,according to claim 1, wherein said gage further includes a puppet springlocated in said elongated tubular housing member and in axial alignmentwith said main coil spring.
 3. The gage, according to claim 2, whereinsaid puppet spring is located between a forward end of said main coilspring and an end wall at said forward end of said elongated tubularhousing member.
 4. The gage, according to claim 1, wherein said maincoil spring is located between a washer attached to said power screw anda washer type head located near said forward end of said elongatedtubular housing member.
 5. The gage, according to claim 1, wherein saidbracket member is substantially U-shaped, with said at least one guidepin being located adjacent at least one end of at least one leg of the Uof said U-shaped bracket member.
 6. The gage, according to claim 1,wherein said elongated tubular housing member has an external surfaceupon which markings are provided to indicate an amount of power screwmovement and thus a pressure being exerted by said gage on such couplinghook.
 7. The gage, according to claim 1, wherein said power screw isprovided with markings to indicate said amount of movement of said powerscrew and thus said amount of force being exerted by said gage on suchcoupling hook.
 8. The gage, according to claim 1, wherein said plungermember is provided with markings to indicate an amount of translation ofsaid plunger member and thus said amount of force being exerted by saidgage on such coupling hook.
 9. A force measurement apparatus formeasuring a force at which hooks of couplers used to couple passengertransit type railway vehicles together are biased when such passengertransit type railway vehicles are coupled together by such hooks, saidforce measurement apparatus comprising:(a) a dial indicator engageablewith a face plate of such couplers; (b) a bracket member; (c) at leasttwo guide pins disposed on said bracket member, said at least two guidepins being sized and located in a position to seat in guide holesprovided in a railway transit coupler; (d) an elongated tubular housingmounted on said bracket member and containing therein a main coil springlocated around a shaft member; (e) a plunger member extending from aforward end of said shaft member and said elongated tubular housingmember for engaging such hook of such railway transit coupler; and (f) apower screw member threadedly engaged into an end of said elongatedtubular housing member opposite said forward end of said elongatedtubular housing member for translating said shaft member in saidelongated tubular housing member and said plunger member to and fromsuch hook of such railway transit coupler, said plunger member beingeffective to initiate movement such hook of such railway transit couplerunder force of said power screw while said dial indicator registers suchmovement.
 10. A force measurement apparatus, according to claim 9,wherein said force measurement apparatus further includes a puppetspring located in said elongated tubular housing member and in axialalignment with said main coil spring.
 11. A force measurement apparatus,according to claim 10, wherein said puppet spring is located between aforward end of said main coil spring and an end wall at said forward endof said elongated tubular housing member.
 12. A force measurementapparatus, according to claim 9, wherein said main coil spring islocated between a washer attached to said power screw and a washer typehead located near said forward end of said elongated tubular housingmember.
 13. A force measurement apparatus, according to claim 9, whereinsaid bracket member is substantially U-shaped, with said at least twoguide pins being located adjacent an end of each leg of the U of saidU-shaped bracket member.
 14. A force measurement apparatus, according toclaim 9, wherein said elongated tubular housing member has an externalsurface portion upon which markings are provided to indicate an amountof movement of said power screw member and thus a pressure being exertedby said force measurement apparatus on such coupling hook of suchpassenger transit type railway vehicle.
 15. A force measurementapparatus, according to claim 9, wherein said power screw member isprovided with markings to indicate said amount of movement of said powerscrew member and thus said amount of force being exerted by said forcemeasurement apparatus on such coupling hook of such passenger transittype railway vehicle.
 16. A force measurement apparatus, according toclaim 9, wherein said plunger member is provided with markings toindicate an amount of translation of said plunger member and thus saidamount of force being exerted by said force measurement apparatus onsuch coupling hook of such passenger transit type railway vehicle.
 17. Amethod of measuring a force at which hook portions of couplers used tocouple passenger transit type railway vehicles together are biased whensuch passenger transit type railway vehicles are coupled together bysuch hook portions of such couplers, said method comprising the stepsof:(a) placing a dial indicator on a coupler and in contact with a hookportion of said coupler; (b) locating a gage on said coupler having aplunger member disposed to engage said hook portion when a power screwmember of said gage translates said plunger member to said hook portion;(c) rotating said power screw member to translate said plunger member tosaid hook portion; (d) effecting initial movement of said hook portionwith said power screw member and plunger member; (e) using said dialindicator to determine such initial movement of said hook portion; and(f) using said gage to indicate an amount of force needed to effect suchinitial movement.